Rays' Cobb dominant in second spring start

"When you start rushing like I was in the first game, you don't give yourself a chance to catch up," Cobb said of his outing Monday. "I worked on giving everyone a first-pitch curveball and was pretty successful with that. You can work in the changeup on that, and I think all three pitches were working well."

Cobb rebounded from a rough start to pitch three overpowering innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Saturday.

Cobb, who struggled to get through two innings against Boston on Monday, allowed just one hit and struck out five on 36 pitches.

Nearly as good, Wei-Yin Chen gave up two hits in two innings in his spring training debut for Baltimore. Chen, who was 12-10 as the Orioles No. 2 starter last year, his first in the major leagues, needed only 23 pitches.

"I feel pretty satisfied for today," Chen said through a translator. "It's been too long for me. I think my command and breaking ball control is getting better and better this year."

Chen's spring debut came so late because he was recovering from a knee injury sustained against the Yankees in the division series last October.

"Last year, I felt a little scared about pitching because of soreness in my knee," Chen said. "This year, I feel totally fine. I'm really lucky to be pitching again today."

Rodney will stay with the team until Monday, when he will report to the Dominican Republic camp at the New York Yankees training complex in Tampa.

NOTES: Saturday's game was the last the day of spring training for Rays' Ben Zobrist (United States) and Jose Molina (Puerto Rico) before heading to their respective teams for the World Baseball Classic. . Rodriguez started in CF on Saturday, his first appearance at that position since 2010. Rodriguez played leftfield twice in 2012, but Maddon says Rodriguez will appear more in the outfield this season. . Orioles LHP Tsuyoshi Wada threw 30 pitches in his third bullpen session of the week. Wada is recovering from Tommy John surgery last May. ... RHP Steve Johnson will get his first start on Tuesday against Toronto in Dunedin. . American League Cy Young Award winner LHP David Price will start Sunday against Minnesota in Port Charlotte . Saturday's game between the Rays and Orioles is the first of four spring meetings. ... Executive Director of the MLB Players Association Michael Weiner met with Rays players Saturday in his annual spring training trip. Weiner told media that the MLBPA agrees with the Commissioner's office on its stance of the Rays stadium situation and that the union is also disappointed with Rays attendance, which was an MLB-worst in 2012. . The Rays reassigned RHP Matt Nevarez, RHP Jim Paduch, LHP Jimmy Patterson and LHP Neil Schenk to the minor league camp. . Baltimore leads the American League East in Spring Training at 6-2. The Rays are 6-3.